


peer support

by highqualityidiot



Category: Bakaleya6, Johnny's Entertainment, Johnny's Jr., SixTONES (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 11:39:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3207833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highqualityidiot/pseuds/highqualityidiot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the whole Koki issue, how well does Juri really cope?</p>
            </blockquote>





	peer support

**Author's Note:**

> Written back in October 2013 after Koki left.

Juri can’t remember when has been the last time that going to work has felt so unpleasant. Maybe never. He’s been okay at home, the issue being talked through properly and honestly, and being surrounded by his loving family members but once back to work, he knows he won’t be able to avoid people’s suspicions or gossiping, or their silent pity. He can’t decide whether it’s good or not that the whole issue has been all over the news and magazines, so everyone probably thinks they know everything about it.

At any rate, Juri decides not to care (or at least try to), so he puts on his usual _genki_ face before arriving at work and keeps greeting people as cheerfully as ever. Or so he hopes. The smile feels a bit stiff but it’s the best he can manage and it’ s so easy to hide behind it.

The way to the dressing rooms feels super long that day, and it feels like he runs into every possible junior on his way there. It feels like there are more eyes on him than normally but he tries to ignore that while strolling forward. Greet, smile, smile, smile. He passes Sanada, Myuto, Yasui, Taiga, Shoki, some of them asking how he’s doing, looking slightly concerned but showing them a smile and a cheery face is enough to convince them and he quickly manages to change the subject to something plain and ordinary and they start chatting away merrily.

That suits Juri better than well and he follows the others to their dressing room, just nodding and laughing along, letting the casual chit-chat flow around him. The dressing room is so full of people and the usual clamor that Juri manages to pull aside a bit, dropping his bag in front of one of the lockers and letting his cheery mask drop momentarily as well, now that no one’s watching.

He stuffs his jacket into the locker, sits down and starts rummaging through his bag and after maybe half a minute, there are people around him again, wanting to chat, joke, show this crazy video they found last night, and Juri plasters the smile back on his face and attempts to take part like he usually does. Suddenly, he catches someone staring at him from across the room between Hagiya and Jesse, and when looking properly, he meets eyes with Shintaro. It stops him for a second, they way the younger’s looking at him, gaze piercing and expression somewhat tense. It looks like Shintaro doesn’t give a damn about all the clamor around them, he just sits there watching Juri…

And suddenly it hits Juri and he wonders why he didn’t think about it before. That Shintaro, of course, _understands_. Probably better than anyone can, and suddenly Juri feels this lump in his throat he tries to swallow away.

The crowd around him breaks up a bit, and suddenly he sees Shintaro standing up and stomping to him. He barely has time to blink in confusion as Shintaro grabs him by the wrist and unceremoniously drags him out of the room, promptly ignoring calls and questions thrown their way. Juri doesn’t protest at all though, just lets himself being dragged away, thinking in passing that the silence in corridors feels nice after the noisy dressing room.

Shintaro leads him along one corridor and then turns left to another. He randomly tries doors as he goes until he finally finds one that’s not locked, and pulls Juri into a small-ish meeting room, shutting the door after them. He gently pushes Juri down on a chair next to the door and sits down beside him.

They sit in silence for a moment, Juri staring at his own hands and wondering what Shintaro’s big idea was, dragging him away like that. While he’s sort of thankful, because dealing with people feels quite overpowering right now, the silence in the room is brooding and for some reason he feels quite awkward under Shintaro’s eyes.

“Um, we’ll be late for the practice if we don’t get back soon,” he finally hears himself saying and lets out a small laugh that even to his own ears sounds awfully forced and hollow.

Indubitably, Shintaro hears it as well. “You don’t have to show the brave face, you know?” he tells Juri firmly. “At least not forcibly. It’s okay to not smile if you don’t feel like it.”

Juri can hear the slight scold in his voice and eventually, carefully, lifts his head to meet the other’s eyes. Shintaro’s watching him evenly with an unreadable expression. Again, Juri has to remind himself that the other’s gone through it all before, and that he was a lot younger then, too. For a second he considers asking how it all felt back then, because they’ve never talked about it before – but then decides not to. He does know how it feels now, after all.

Instead, Juri gives Shintaro a small, sad grin and weak shrug indicating that he can’t help it. He can so easily hide behind the smile and his dorky character, always has.

Shintaro snorts. “Just… don’t force yourself too much.” The younger pauses for a second, like gathering courage to continue. When he does, he’s not meeting Juri’s eyes anymore but talks to his knee instead. “Also, don’t let people get under your skin about it. He’s your brother after all and you know him better than anyone else, so. It all sucks big time of course, and I know this sounds lame and probably not soothing at all but… it only gets better by time.”

Shintaro spares him a quick glance and lets out a small, unsure laugh, done saying the cool things and getting all shy and embarrassed all of a sudden.

“Sorry, I suppose you know all that already anyway...”

But Juri smiles, a sincere smile for the first time during the past couple of days.

He appreciates Shintaro’s words, the hidden concern and worry behind them, and the silent yet perfect understanding over the situation. He’s also thankful of this short time-out, a break from other people, thankful that the younger made him drop his mask because, really, it’s tiring. The sudden support he’s thought he doesn’t want or need actually feels nice. He doesn’t tell Shintaro any of this though, because he’s bad with words like that, and it would be embarrassing.

What he does though, is leaning a bit closer and dropping his head on Shintaro’s shoulder, muttering just an audible “thank you” and thinking in passing that the younger is just the right size to lean against these days. He can feel Shintaro tensing momentarily but upon hearing his words, the other relaxes and just shifts a bit for better position. Juri feels him raising his arm on the backrest of Juri’s chair and carefully resting his head against Juri’s, and Juri is suddenly very much aware of his burning face and racing heart.

It’s comforting though, and Juri finds himself hoping that he could just stay there for the longest time and not return outside to the rest of the world and people.

“Thank you,” he says again, just to be sure.

“Any time,” Shintaro answers. Then, Juri feels him turning his head, apparently towards the clock on the next wall, because he says (quite unenthusiastically):

“We’re really going to be late if we don’t go back soon.”

“Well, it’ll be your fault. You dragged me out here,” Juri reminds but instead of moving just snuggles closer.

They’ve still got five minutes. Or something.


End file.
